What should the US Federal Government handle, and what should it not do?

I notice that in discussions of politics here, disputes often center around what should and shouldn’t be the concern of the federal government. Clearly, many things are the business of each one of us private citizens. I don’t want any government telling me whether I prefer coffee or tea in the morning. Some things can’t be done by individuals but are are best left to private enterprise. Some things are best handled by local government. Some are rightfully state government issues. Police agencies probably are needed at the local, state and federal level because crime occurs at all those levels. Local police could never do the job of the FBI or the CIA.

Let’s not try here to assign everything that needs to happen to its particular slot, be it citizen, corporation, city, state, or federal. Let’s just deal with what really makes good sense to do at the federal level, and what should be left to one of the other levels. Please discuss why you feel that a given responsibility should be handled at the national level, or why you feel one that is now a federal responsibility should not be the federal government’s concern.

I’m not looking for mindless ideological statements like Reagan’s, “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” nor Karl Marx’s, “The meaning of peace is the absence of opposition to socialism.” I’m looking for reasons a particular activity needs to be at the national level, or should not be there.

If you think the federal government should provide for the common defense, why do you think so? If you think we should privatize all federal prisons, why? If you think public education should not be locally run but should be a federal responsibility, why?

I sincerely hope that by discussing our reasons for the policy directions we support, we can better understand one another’s politics. Too often in political debates, we seem to end up talking past each other because we assume that our personal ideas about governmental responsibility are shared by all, or at least by all who are sane and not out on some political extreme. I hope we can keep the discussion civil. It’s OK to disagree agreeably, but there is no need to vilify someone simply because they do not share your particular viewpoint. Just state your case as rationally as you can, and let it stand or fall on the merit of the facts you present in support of it.

I am really looking forward to what I may learn from the ensuing discussion.